Player-piano.



R. W. COOPER, P. A. LEE & R. J. MEYER.

. PLAYER PIANO.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1913.

1,131,470. Patented MarIQ, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 1- YHE NORRIS PETERS c0 PHOTO-LITHO..

WASHINGTON. D

R. W. COOPER, F. A. LEE 6; R. J. MEYER.

. PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2a, 1913.

1,131,470. Patented Mar.9,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. LEE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND ROBERT W. COOPER, OF DAYTON, AND RAY J. MEYER, OF PINEVILLE, KENTUCKY; SAID LEE AND SAID COOPER ASSIGNOR-S TO THE JOHN CHURCH COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PLAYER-PIANO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

Application filed September 26, 1913. Serial No. 791,930.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK A. LEE, ROB- ERT IV. COOPER, and RAY J. MEYER, all citi- Zens of the United States, the said FRANK A. Lnn being a resident of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, the. said ROBERT WV. Coormr being a resident of Dayton, Campbell county, Kentucky, and the said RAY MEYER being a resident of Pineville, Bell county, Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Player-Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The proper tracking of the perforated paper or other medium, 2'. 6., the proper registering of the perforations in the paper with the desired slot in the tracker bar of a pneumatic pianois of prime importance in the art. In transposing from one key to another in such pianos, it has been customary to provide a transposer for shifting the receiving and storage rolls which can be stopped at any point short of a complete transposition, to gain proper lateral adjustment of the rolls against the slight deviations of the perforated paper. This is not satisfactory because transposing must then be done by sight instead of by feel. In other words, moving of the transposer either by lever or rack and pinion, when it is a gradual movement, must be watched to be sure that acomplete transposition hasbeen made. Marks and indicators on the tracker bar or elsewhere are used in connection with such a transposer, but do not enable a quick mechanical accuracy in transposing.

It is therefore the object of our invention to provide a transposer, which by a lever movement of one notch, say, accomplishes a complete transposition, and which is also capable of an additional and independent movement less than a complete transposition, for tracking. This we accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front ele' vation of a tracker case showing our invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with the parts broken away to show the transposing lever. Fig. 3 is a perspective of the lever and its immediate connections.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the notched segment and lever arm with the knurled head removed. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the lever arm and segment. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the tracker case showing the vertical rock arm and its connection to its operating rod.

The storage roll 1 and the receiving roll 2 are mounted by their respective shafts 3 and 4 in the sides 5 and 6 of the tracker case of a pneumatic piano. The case has a top 7 and a base 8, and in it, between the rolls, is the tracker bar A.

A frame 9. 9, 9, for the transmission and gear by which the shafts 3 and 4 are turned is mounted on the side of the case. This may be of any desired kind, so long as the shafts 3 and l'may extend through the frame and be capable of reciprocating motion. The form shown here comprises the driving shaft 10. the rewind sprocket and chain 11, the clutches 12 and 13 and the wind gearing 14. The clutches are thrown by an arm 15 pivoted at the bottom of the frame.

r The shafts 3 and 4 extend through the side 6 at their other end and are housed in casings 16 and 17. and bear against the coiled springs 18 and 19 which should be strong enough to keep the shafts tightlv against their abutments on the other side of the frame.

It is not desired to specify upon which end these shafts are to be given reciprocal motion and upon which end the springs shall be located; either end would be proper. In the drawings. the spring ends are on the side away from the transmission frame. and the parts will be described as located thus arbitrarily.

Mounted in the brackets 20. 20, on the frame 9 is the rod 21. and keyed on this arm opposite the end of the shafts 3 and 4 are sleeves 22. 22-. The sleeves have horizontallv extending arms 23, 23, preferably integral therewith. The sleeves rest on the brackets. and together with their arms and the rod 21, form What will be hereafter referred to as the rock arm. It will be noted that no special details of construction of this rockarm are any more than the preferred fornn The ends of the arms 23 are forked and have ivoted therein the contact fingers 24, 24. The fingers preferably have knobs 25, 25 are provided for the shafts,v

and the rock arm should be so positioned and constructed as to advance to the samedegree each shaft upon being rocked.

An arin26, firmly" secured to the base of the rock arm, has a pivotal connection with the rod 28. This rod is moved by the operator as hereinafter described, and imparts motion to the rock arm. v

,Pivoted at 29' on the bottom Sof the tracker casing is the transposing lever 30, On the end of the lever proper is a mounting' for the handle of the lever which has also another function. to be hereinafter clescribed. The mounting'consistsin two upwardly, extending flanges or tongues3l, 31, one .preferablyintegral withthe lever arm and one part of a small plate attached to the lever .arm by a screw 32. A pin 33carrying a fixed pinion 34 is mounted in these tongues and extends outwardly, and y is provided with the knurled head 35. This head forms thehandleof the lever and has a flat spring 36 bearing onits lower circumferenoje, which-keeps it fromv turning. A further spring 37 bears on this spring 36, and isv bent downwardly to contact withjthe bottom of a hollowed outv portion 137 in the base Sof the tracker case. This spring thus pushesupwardly o'n the'head 35 and on the 111. p The head protrudes through a slot .39 in the frontiO of the tracker case, and the pin is pressedupbv the spring against anotched segment 41 Figs. 4 and 5). There are five notches in the segment used, although this is merely chosen as the number which would be adapted to most player pianos. The notches are spaced apart so that a moving of the lever from its position in one notch to the position in the next notch will accomplish a complete transposition of one note on the tracker bar. 2'. e1, one-half step inthe musical scale. By means of connections from this lever to the rod 28 which work the rock arm, the rock arm is swung thus forcing shafts 3 and 4 into the desired position" The perforations in the paper will beshifted exactly the right distance to accoinplish one complete transposition, and the springs 18, 19 will hold the rolls firm. Then it is desired to move the rolls in the opposite H direction, a withdrawing ofthe arms of the rockarm will'allow the springs to force. the shafts in the same direction and keep them in contact with their respective fingers It can heseen that there is no gradual changing such ashas been usual in the art, but a complete transposition.

The adjustment for proper tracking as has been suggested is mounted on the lever arm. The head 35, held against rotation by the spring 36, is fixedly mounted on its [JlIl' 33, and the pinion 3% fixed uponthe pin. An arm 38 is pivotally connected to the end of the rod 28, and extends over the top of the lever arm underneath the pinion 3%. It is provided with notches 138 (Fig. 3), forming a rack for the pinion.

The length of the rack portion is just a fractionsmaller th'ar'ione complete transposition, 2'. e. from one notch to the next in the notched segment. The strip 38 is held firmly enough to serve as the'sole connection between the lever and the rod 28, and itis pivoted to impart rectilinear motion to the rod as against the circular motion of the levers l-Vhen the head 35' is turned then and the pinion advances or retracts the arm 38, motion is imparted to therock arm along the same line as the transposition motion. But inasmuch as the rack is of too sinalla size, a transposition cannot be efiected by this means.

If the perforations in the paper become slightly out of line with their proper slots in the tracker bar, the proper tracking or registering should be accomplished by the operator by a turnin of the head 35. When, on-the other hand, a transposition is desired, it should be accomplished by a pushing of the head from one notch in the segmental plate 41 to another.

The advantages gained by this construction have already been stated, and in addition to them, there is the advantage of simplicity of structure and hence inexpensiveness. I

Having thus described our invention,what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a player piano, a tracking and transposing device, comprising a part over which the perforated paper passes to be shifted, a lever for transposition, connections therefrom to the part to be shifted, and means for changing the relation of the lever and the connection without moving the lever, for purposes of tracking.

2. In a player piano, a tracking and transposing device comprising a lever, a rock arm for shifting the rolls, a receiving roll and storage roll to be shifted, connections between the lever and the rock arm, means for limiting motion of the lever to complete transpositions, and means mounted on said lever for all tracking less than one complete transposition and connections therefrom to the rock arm, for the purpose specified.

3. Ina player piano,a tracking and transposing device, comprising a part over which the perforated paper passes to be shifted,- a lever, connection therefrom to the part, means for limiting the movement of the lever to complete transpositions, a rack and pinion on the lever for all tracking less than one complete transpos tion, and connections therefrom to the part to be shifted.

4. In a player piano, a tracker bar, slots therein, a storage roll, a receiving roll carrying the perforated medium thereon, means for shifting the rolls to shift the perforated medium on the tracker bar, means for limiting the shifting means to motions of complete transposition, and additional means for shifting the rolls and means for limiting the additional means to a total motion of less than a complete transposition.

5. In a player piano, the combination with a means for shifting the storage and receiving rolls of the piano, of a means for limiting the shifting means to motions of complete transposition, and means on the shifting means for expanding and contracting it Without altering its position With regard to its limiting means.

6. A tracking and transposing device for player pianos of the character described comprising a means for shifting the perforated paper on the tracker bar, a rack, a

pinion, connections from the shifting means 5 to the rack, with the rack of a length to limit the movement of the shifting means to prevent a transposition.

7 A tracking and transposing device for player pianos of the character described 30 comprising a rock arm for shifting the perforated paper on the tracker bar, a lever, a. rack and pinion on the lever, connecting means between the rack and the rock arm,

means for limiting the movement of the 35 lever to complete transpositions, with the rack of a length to limit the movement of the shifting means to prevent a transposi- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atents,

Washington, D. C. 

